Cooking Alaskan Whitefish

Our local fishmonger has had fresh Alaskan whitefish fillets at a very attractive price lately, but it's become painfully obvious to me that I don't know how to cook them.

I tried doing a whitefish meuniere with brown butter, capers and lemon, and the fillet just fell apart along its vertical segments. Hmm...need something sturdier to back it up. I then tried a cornmeal crust, as if I were doing a catfish fillet. Once again, fish hash. Mind you, the fish tasted fine in each case, but it was a mess on the plate.

My shelves full of cookbooks don't have any reference to whitefish per se. Any suggestions? We like the fish's mild flavor and it sure is affordable.

Chef EdBOver 50 years in food service business 35 as Ex Chef. Specializing in Volume upscale Catering both on and off premise .(former Exec. Chef in the largest on premise caterer in US with 17 Million Dollars per year annual volume). Well versed in all facets of Continental Cuisine...

Chef EdBOver 50 years in food service business 35 as Ex Chef. Specializing in Volume upscale Catering both on and off premise .(former Exec. Chef in the largest on premise caterer in US with 17 Million Dollars per year annual volume). Well versed in all facets of Continental Cuisine...

If you can't beat them then join them.
Do a dish like the Veracruz or go ahead and flake and do fish cakes.
Mix with crab meat and make stuffing for flounder.
Have never done so but I imagine adding some chop veg and Old Bay and a bit of mayo to bind and serve by the scoop for a salad luncheon party.

Love fish tacos but then you are back to the fish flaking and falling apart.

Maybe "nachos" using crispy fried wontons garnished with a bit of ceviche flavored cabbage slaw and a crumble of queso blanco?

Or come back to the crab/whitefish salad and either place a scoop in an avocado (old school and kinda out of date in my area) or simply garnish with a fan of avocado and a cold cerveza... (oh ...beer is not a garnish? Huh.)

Not to state the obvious, but have you considered beer batter? I have certainly seen a number of places use "alaskan white fish" as well as cod in order to do their fish and chips and I imagine the expanding batter might help hold the fish together during and after the frying process.

chefedb--Yes, according to our fish monger (who is usually quite reliable) the fish is fresh, not previously frozen. (Sorry for my delayed response, but the reply notification doesn't seem to be working for me.)

Thanks, Eastshores, My wife, who represents the Food Police in our house, objects to battered fish for its presumed fat content, but I may see if I can persuade her to left me give it a try.

Cerise, I will try baked vera cruz. I was thinking that a baked version of this fish might have more integrity.

Cerise and flipflop, we love fish tacos, especially with a lime cabbage slaw and a slightly spicy avocado sauce. In fact, it's on the menu for tomorrow night. But I think this whitefish would just fall apart before it got to the table.

Thank you everyone for the comments, and sorry for my delayed response, but the reply notification doesn't seem to be working for me.

Alaska whitefish may refer to a "collection of fish" including Pollock, cod, haddock or a species of whitefish in the family Salmonidae, aka lake whitefishes. The latter is excellent cold smoked but are bony. The former are excellent when poached in a court bouillon. Since these are immersed whole-skin-on with a platform; they are subjected to no rough handling. Court bouillon is brought to a full boil, then turned to a mere simmer before immersing fish.

I like white wine, bay, peppercorns, coriander, lemons, onions in the poaching liquid.

Pollock fish are one of the world’s most popular fish. It has consistently been one of the top five seafood species consumed by American consumers. This type of fish is the most preferred for its mild flavor, white meat and flaky texture. Alaska pollock is used as a common ingredient for imitation crab. If you add polloch to the water you boil crabs in, the fish will extend the crab meat mixed in. I think broiling with a brushing of clarified butter is very good way to prepare this fish. It also makes a hell of a good sandwich.

Actually the 'mushiness' of pollock can be vastly reduced by gently salting the fish for an hour or so beforehand. I tend to do this for 15-20 minutes with most round fish, as it just firms up the flesh a tad and makes it easier to work with.

my guy need to eat fish for healty, but he don't like it very much...so I cook it like this, and it is tasty also for him!

clean the fish fillet

then put it:

- or in milk (it would be very tender) for at least 20 min.

- or with salt and sugar on it (this would take away the water in it) you'll need to pass under running water before cook - better for some hours

- or in a marinade with oil, lemon and aromas - 15 min.

then prepare a panure, you can put in all you like (always some grated bread) :D my favourite is with

grated almonds, grated bread, a pinch of grated parmesan, parsley thyme salt pepper (for this sometimes I made a variation in the marinade, instead of lemon I use orange juice and add also some chopped orange zest), use some of the marinade to dough the panure and put it on the fish.

other panure you can make with pistachos, only bread, with corn flour or chopped corn flakes

I made another tasty panure with chopped: sunny tomatoes, basil, olives, an anchovy, some chily powder if you like